Things Remembered
by Steve West on October 2, 2021
When I was in kindergarten, a girl brought a doll to class. It was so pretty that even the boys liked it. Everyone played with it but I was the one who broke it. She cried, of course, and I promised to get her a similar one. I asked my parents to get it for me for my birthday instead of the thing I had asked for. They agreed and thought it was a good idea. I gave it to her on my birthday. Her joy was the best payoff I could have received. At dinner, my dad gave me my own present. He said I had done the right thing and was proud of me.
One Reply to Things Remembered
Web Junkie
Steve West scours the Web searching for interest or absurdity and then shakes his head ruefully when he finds it. Read more »
You and Me, Albert
I just returned from an hour long wait at BestBuy to get a laptop we bought last week. I was there to retrieve it after the data transfer was completed by their Geek Squad. I stood in line watching four staff running around in circles helping one customer while me and six others in line watched stupefied. Go »Christmas Post #16: A Hillbilly Christmas
My father was born and raised in North Carolina. Throughout my childhood we would make the summer trek to my Granny and Grandpaw's house in the middle of the state. Many a summer night passed listening to roosters (they crow all friggin' night), the occasional gator grunt, and my hillbilly cousins fart and scratch while playing cards. Go »That's Entertainment
Recently, we held the Annual Empoyees Event for the credit union for which I work. Each year along with the State of the Credit Union speeches and various awards given, there is an entertainment portion. Last year was karaoke and dancing, the year before was a fashion dos and don'ts demonstration. Go »Darth Vader Is Alive And Well And Living In My Toaster
So we got this gift from a mother-in law who shall remain nameless; a "super-mega-nuclear look at me long enough and your face will melt like that guy in Raiders toaster. There was nothing wrong with our existing toaster but when she saw it on QVC, my nameless mother-in-law had one of those have to have it moments. I've nicknamed the toaster Darth Vader because regardless of the setting, it turns the bread to the dark side every time. Go »Weekend Grocery Shopping Equals...
... another encounter with Ugly On A Stick. I had no idea she was even there until she went out of her way to shout, 'HiiiIIIiiiii' from an aisle away. Go »
Scott Hardie | October 7, 2021
That's a great story, Steve. Good on you.
If i may hijack your blog post with a story that's not so great, I've been haunted all of my life by a similar opportunity where I made the selfish choice.
When I was maybe 3, all of the neighborhood kids got invitations to a birthday party. My mother took me to the bookstore to pick out a gift, and we settled on a children's storybook about an anthropomorphized owl who delivers mail (long before Harry Potter). It came with a little toy figurine of the owl in his postal uniform, attached to the back of the book via netting made of thin cloth mesh.
I read the book, I liked the book, I wanted the book for myself, I wanted to play with the toy... I think you can see where this is going. My mother couldn't take me back to the store to buy one for me too, but I was just so desperate to play with the owl that I ripped open the netting and played with the owl and lost it. My mother didn't find out until she went to wrap it just before the party. I got a stern talking-to about things that are not mine no matter how much I want them, and then I had to hand-deliver the present with the ripped netting and missing toy.
I can't remember if i apologized to the birthday kid, but it's been decades and I have never stopped feeling guilty about it.